History AllThereInTheManual / WesternAnimation

** It's even useful when it comes to the main characters, for example, it reveals that [[TheWoobie Cody]] and [[DumbBlonde Lindsay]] are both SpoiledSweet, even though the series itself never mentions how rich they are.

* In the {{Creator/Nelvana}} AnimatedAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool'' which is based on the works of Creator/RosemaryWells. Yoko's mother would sometimes bring up the other family members who still living in Japan along with mentioning her daughters early memories of living in Japan as a toddler. While we do see a glimpse of Yoko's grandfather in the episode "The Takatombo". We never actually see the other family members of Yoko in the show or even see the rest of Japan in general. In 2001, Wells made a book called "Yoko's Paper Cranes" where you can actually see Yoko as a very young kitten still living with her grandma and grandpa along with seeing cranes. We also see Yoko and her grandmother Obaasan feeding cranes,having tea, and Ojisaan showing her how to make paper cranes. This is also the only time Yoko's grandmather is actually seen.

* Each episode of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' is accompanied by a comic (Season 1 only), episode guide, and creator commentary on the official site. While these normally just contain trivial info, they were all but necessary to watch the "Dooku captured" episodes. The comics explained Anakin's voluntary capture and showed how Anakin and Obi-wan got drugged, the episode guide explained how Dooku lost his sabers (the monkey-lizard pickpocketed him!) and the commentary video was Filoni explaining that he believed even Dooku can be captured by pirates if he's sufficiently outnumbered. These were also necessary for determining the chronological order of some of the earlier episodes. Later episodes in the series would normally take measures to avert this by keeping the timeline moving forward.

* In WesternAnimation/{{Trollz}}, the Trollz' pets, aside from Amethyst's dog, Wa-Wa, are only seen on the website. Some of the backstory involving Simon is only found there, too.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' Interactive flash site on Creator/CartoonNetwork had bios for all the 22 campers for the show. This had very useful information for campers that got voted off early like Ezekiel, Eva and Noah, who got very little character development.

* Dwayne [=McDuffie=] had a Q&A for ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' on his site which details lots of info such as [[spoiler:Ultimate Humungousaur can't grow, Way Big is bigger than Ultimate Humugousaur and that Azmuth didn't make the ultimates, Albedo did]].

* A lot of character and setting details for ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' are only found with the back-of-the-box toy descriptions for the characters and profiles released as supplementary material, occasionally with characters who never even made it into the show itself.
** ''Franchise/GIJoe'' also had a bit of this as well, one example would be the Dreadlok Buzzer whom was a disgruntled former Sociology professor in Cambridge England. Before he joined the Dreadnoks Richard "Buzzer" Blinken was a sociology college professor in England whom got in trouble because the college he worked at did not like his "extremist left-wing political beliefs". Buzzer wanted to do some research on Australian Biker gangs in which he ended up being a part of the very thing he was researching when he joined the Dreadnoks.
** It should be noted that the box bios often have their own canon and storyline that might match the show's events, but for the most part writes it's own story. This is especially obvious in the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' toys. Since only 20 characters or so were introduced in the series, and dozens were created for the toyline, the differences are expected. Also, in the beginning the ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' were set to take place after the Autobot-Decepticon war, among the humans. The early toys reference this, and the characters who appear in the show often have an entirely different characterization in their initial bios.
** The ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' [[RunningTheAsylum writing and art staff]] actually sat down and ''wrote'' a pair of manuals. The Allspark Almanac I and II are a pair of incredibly detailed books about the characters, setting, and plot devices in the show, including a lot of things that most cartoon writers would never think about in the first place. It's also ridiculously geeky.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' Interactive flash site on Creator/CartoonNetwork has bios for all the 22 campers for the show. This has very useful information for campers that got voted off early like Ezekiel, Eva and Noah, who got very little character development.
** It's even useful when it comes to the main characters, for example, it reveals that [[TheWoobie Cody]] and [[DumbBlonde Lindsay]] are both SpoiledSweet, even though the series itself never mentions how rich they are.
*** In Lindsay's case while it was never said explicitly there are hints tracing back to the first episode that implied she was rich.
* Each episode of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' is accompanied by a comic (Season 1 only), episode guide, and creator commentary on the official site. While these normally just contain trivial info, they were all but necessary to watch the "Dooku captured" episodes. The comics explained Anakin's voluntary capture and showed how Anakin and Obi-wan got drugged, the episode guide explained how Dooku lost his sabers (the monkey-lizard pickpocketed him!) and the commentary video was Filoni explaining that he believed even Dooku can be captured by pirates if he's sufficiently outnumbered. These were also necessary for determining the chronological order of some of the earlier episodes. Later episodes in the series would normally take measures to avert this by keeping the timeline moving forward.
* When ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' was still in production, Jess Winfield kept in touch with the fanbase at TV.com and helped confirm numbers, names, and functions of each experiment featured on the show. With ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', all we need to find out are the remaining functions. Oh, and among other things, he confirmed that [[spoiler:the 628 pod seen at the end of Experiment 627's episode]] was just a throwaway joke.

* Dwayne [=McDuffie=] has a Q and A for ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' on his site which details lots of info such as [[spoiler:Ultimate Humungousaur can't grow, Way Big is bigger than Ultimate Humugousaur and that Azmuth didn't make the ultimates, Albedo did]].
** The first series had a marathon with "Omnifacts", which gave an extensive, off-screen backstory for Ghostfreak, explaining how Vilgax survived the first season finale, as well as hinting at characters in future series such as Seven-Seven, the LiveActionAdaptation also had Omnifacts, which showed early hints about Paradox.
* In WesternAnimation/{{Trollz}}, the Trollz' pets, aside from Amethyst's dog, Wa-Wa, are only seen on the website. Some of the backstory involving Simon is only found there, too.
* Book six of the series ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': [[http://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Arnolds-Files-Groening-Bartlett/dp/0439381495/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Arnold's E-Files]] confirms that Brainy is in love with Helga and that he has HiddenDepths.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' had a tie-in comic, like most [=DC=] {{animated adaptation}}s, but theirs was co-written by writers and producers from the series and went into details like why the Justice League abandoned their headquarters at Mt. Justice, how Artemis found the battle with A.M.A.Z.O., and just ''why'' ComicBook/{{Superboy}} hates monkeys so much. It also provided an origin for Clayface, and at least one issue contained a scene that was scripted but ultimately cut from an actual episode of the show.
** ''Young Justice: Legacy'' shed some light on what happened during the five year TimeSkip between seasons one and two, as well as introduced a new villain who would've appeared in season three, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork had it not been cancelled]].
* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' has the [[http://crewofomens.tumblr.com Crew of Omens Blog]] where they take questions and hold chats, and the [[http://soundslikejeff.wordpress.com/ Sound Designers' Blog]], where they detail the sound art created for the show.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' has tie-in comics containing stories and bios that confirm such details as the Crimson Dynamo's real name, [[ComicBook/IronMan Ivan Vanko]], and the identity of the "giant robot" ComicBook/IronMan fought in his first episode, Ultimo. They also record the capturing of some criminals whose defeats did not receive inclusion in the show's 52 episodes.
** The later issues handle [[LeftHanging dangling plot threads]] from the show, such as what exactly happened to Grey Gargoyle, Queen Karnilla, and Princess Ravonna. It also set the stage for ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and the ComicBook/ScarletWitch, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen who would've appeared in the show had it been picked up for a third season]].
* The tie-in comic book for ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersUnitedTheyStand'' attempts to make sense of some of the baffling elements of the cartoon, such as providing a decent explanation as to why the Avengers are wearing gaudy, {{Animesque}} battle armor. It also provides an origin for Ultron.
* A lot of information in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rollbots}}'' on the various tribes and special information regarding characters can only be found on the Rollbots webpage on the Creator/{{Ytv}} website, which can now no longer be accessed. Even when it was available, many aspects of it could not be viewed from outside Canada.
* Much information about the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' could be learned from the ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'' comic book, such as Terra's origins and much of Starfire's family.
* The ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' gang's ages are never stated within the series, but they are within outside material. An official calendar from the original series pinned Velma at 14, Shaggy and Freddy at 17, and Daphne at 16. A more recent example – bios from a video game – based off the same series has Velma at 15. Sources also have their sizes as: Fred is 5′11″ and 185 pounds, Shaggy is 6 feet tall and 160 pounds, Velma is 4′9″ and 95 pounds, and Dapnhe is 5′7″ and 115 pounds.
** Issue #21 of the Gold Key comic (story "Charmed Strife") posits that the gang have the following zodiac signs: Scooby, Aries; Fred, Pisces; Shaggy, Leo; Velma, Virgo; Daphne, Gemini.
* Since ''WebAnimation/BravestWarriors'' is still in production at this point, a lot of the information about it comes from the production art.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', when the Rubbles first find baby Bamm-Bamm in a tortoise-shell basket on their doorstep, they quickly learn that he has near-superhuman strength. No explanation was ever given for this strength on the show. Some 30 years after the series aired, a trading card finally gave an answer. [[spoiler:Bamm-Bamm was raised by dinosaurs in the wild.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': Do you want to know what anti–sea-rhinoceros undergarments look like? Just play the game based on "The Camping Episode".
* There's a lot of info/backstory in ''WesternAnimation/{{Motorcity}}'' that wasn't revealed in the show, but revealed by the creator, crew and the series bible, such as Julie and Claire being ChildhoodFriends, Mike's CoolBigSis Capri, and Julie's mother [[spoiler:having died when Julie was little]]. Since some of the info in the bible (particularly regarding how Dutch and Texas interact with each other) contradicts what we saw in the series, some of this info might not be canon.

* In the {{Creator/Nelvana}} AnimatedAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TimothyGoesToSchool'' which is based on the works of Creator/RosemaryWells. Yoko's mother would sometimes bring up the other family members who still living in Japan along with mentioning her daughters early memories of living in Japan as a toddler. While we do see a glimpse of Yoko's grandfather in the episode "The Takatombo". We never actually see the other family members of Yoko in the show or even see the rest of Japan in general. In 2001, Wells made a book called "Yoko's Paper Cranes" where you can actually see Yoko as a very young kitten still living with her grandma and grandpa along with seeing cranes. We also see Yoko and her grandmother Obaasan feeding cranes,having tea, and Ojisaan showing her how to make paper cranes. This is also the only time Yoko's grandmather is actually seen.
** In the episode "Fritz And The Mess Fairy" Fritz would usually bring up that the mess fairy is responsible for causing messes where ever he goes. After The Franks heard about the fairy they start making mess and even ruining Timothy and Nora's art project and blaming it on the mess fairy. When Fritz tells them to quiet it, The Franks tell him that he started it. He later tells Timothy and the other students that the mess fairy never existed and washes Timothy's project to make up his mistake. [[http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DYKNXWR8L.jpg In the original book]] the episode was based on, The Mess Fairy is seen and depicted as a pig.
* The supplementary ''WesternAnimation/DocMcStuffins'' book ''Doc [=McStuffins=]'': My World'' states that Doc's father is a chef. This is never mentioned on the series itself.
* Snowball II, the replacement cat for Snowball on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was revealed in 1994 to not be a cat at all, but a member of a race of catlike aliens sent to spy on Earthlings. Problem was, this was only mentioned on a Creator/BongoComics trading card about Snowball II and never brought up in the show itself. And it probably never will be, now that Snowball II herself has been killed and replaced by various other cats (though the current cat is called Snowball II even in-universe simply for tradition's sake).
* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls ([[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]]), and divulges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name, [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory, and adventures that [[{{Interquel}} occurred between episodes]]. The [[VideoGame/GravityFallsLegendOfTheGnomeGemulets video game]] and [[Literature/GravityFallsDipperAndMabelAndTheCurseOfTheTimePiratesTreasure choose-your-own adventure book]] also reveal extra information that give additional context to events in the show proper, including [[spoiler:the meaning behind Bill Cipher's final words]].
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' has "Star and Marco's Guide to Mastering Every Dimension", which contains all manner of information that was never mentioned in the show. This ranges from minor details like the full names of nearly every character, to major backstory elements for a variety of both major and minors characters, to ton of details about the history and geography of Mewni. Perhaps the most important revelation is the origin story of Glossaryck and the Magic High Commission, some of the most mysterious characters in the show.

** The second All-Avatar Nick Mag, in itself a collaboration of writers of the show and acclaimed comic artists, which contains comics that serve as a bridge for the time jump that occurs between the second SeasonFinale and the season three premiere.

* In the {{Creator/Nelvana}} AnimatedAdaptation of TimothyGoesToSchool which is based on the works of Creator/RosemaryWells. Yoko's mother would sometimes bring up the other family members who still living in Japan along with mentioning her daughters early memories of living in Japan as a toddler. While we do see a glimpse of Yoko's grandfather in the episode "The Takatombo". We never actually see the other family members of Yoko in the show or even see the rest of Japan in general. In 2001, Wells made a book called "Yoko's Paper Cranes" where you can actually see Yoko as a very young kitten still living with her grandma and grandpa along with seeing cranes. We also see Yoko and her grandmother Obaasan feeding cranes,having tea, and Ojisaan showing her how to make paper cranes. This is also the only time Yoko's grandmather is actually seen.

* A lot of information in ''{{Rollbots}}'' on the various tribes and special information regarding characters can only be found on the Rollbots webpage on the Creator/{{Ytv}} website, which can now no longer be accessed. Even when it was available, many aspects of it could not be viewed from outside Canada.

* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls ([[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]]), and devulges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name, [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory, and adventures that [[{{Interquel}} occurred between episodes]]. The [[VideoGame/GravityFallsLegendOfTheGnomeGemulets video game]] and [[Literature/GravityFallsDipperAndMabelAndTheCurseOfTheTimePiratesTreasure choose-your-own adventure book]] also reveal extra information that give additional context to events in the show proper, including [[spoiler:the meaning behind Bill Cipher's final words]].

* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and devuluges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name, [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory, and adventures that [[{{Interquel}} occurred between episodes]]. The [[VideoGame/GravityFallsLegendOfTheGnomeGemulets video game]] and [[Literature/GravityFallsDipperAndMabelAndTheCurseOfTheTimePiratesTreasure choose-your-own adventure book]] also reveal extra information that give additional context to events in the show proper.

* In the {{Creator/Nelvana}} AnimatedAdaptation of TimothyGoesToSchool which is based on the works of RosemaryWells. Yoko's mother would sometimes bring up the other family members who still living in Japan along with mentioning her daughters early memories of living in Japan as a toddler. While we do see a glimpse of Yoko's grandfather in the episode "The Takatombo". We never actually see the other family members of Yoko in the show or even see the rest of Japan in general. In 2001, Wells made a book called "Yoko's Paper Cranes" where you can actually see Yoko as a very young kitten still living with her grandma and grandpa along with seeing cranes. We also see Yoko and her grandmother Obaasan feeding cranes,having tea, and Ojisaan showing her how to make paper cranes. This is also the only time Yoko's grandmather is actually seen.

** ''GIJoe'' also had a bit of this as well, one example would be the Dreadlok Buzzer whom was a disgruntled former Sociology professor in Cambridge England. Before he joined the Dreadnoks Richard "Buzzer" Blinken was a sociology college professor in England whom got in trouble because the college he worked at did not like his "extremist left-wing political beliefs". Buzzer wanted to do some research on Australian Biker gangs in which he ended up being a part of the very thing he was researching when he joined the Dreadnoks.

* The book six of the series ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': [[http://www.amazon.com/Arnold-Arnolds-Files-Groening-Bartlett/dp/0439381495/ref=pd_sim_b_3 Arnold's E-Files]] confirms that Brainy is in love with Helga and that he has HiddenDepths.

* A lot of character and setting details for ''{{Transformers}}'' are only found with the back-of-the-box toy descriptions for the characters and profiles released as supplementary material, occasionally with characters who never even made it into the show itself.

** The ''TransformersAnimated'' [[RunningTheAsylum writing and art staff]] actually sat down and ''wrote'' a pair of manuals. The Allspark Almanac I and II are a pair of incredibly detailed books about the characters, setting, and plot devices in the show, including a lot of things that most cartoon writers would never think about in the first place. It's also ridiculously geeky.

** King Sombra's aftereffects on the Crystal Empire are indeed NightmareFuel-worthy, but we never know anything of his direct rule--until ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendsForever shows flashbacks of him [[spoiler:enslaving a Crystal Bard for its CompellingVoice and siccing his guards on its trail when it finally escapes.]]

* Snowball II, the replacement cat for Snowball on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was revealed in 1994 to not be a cat at all, but a member of a race of catlike aliens sent to spy on Earthlings. Problem was, this was only mentioned on a BongoComics trading card about Snowball II and never brought up in the show itself. And it probably never will be, now that Snowball II herself has been killed and replaced by various other cats (though the current cat is called Snowball II even in-universe simply for tradition's sake).

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' it is never fully stated what happened to Finn's (human) parents. However, in the Adventure Time Encyclopaedia book it is revealed that Finn's parents abandoned him in a basket in the woods for unknown reasons. He was left there until he was found by Jake's parents. (The aftermath of the abandonment is seen in the flashback scenes of "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain".)

* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and devuluges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name, [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory, and adventures that [[{{Interquel}} occurred between episodes]]. The [[VideoGame/GravityFallsLegendOfTheGnomeGemulets video game]] and [[Literature/GravityFallsDipperAndMabelAndTheCurseOfTheTimePiratesTreasure choose-your-own adventure book]] also reveal extra information.

* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and devuluges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name, [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory, and adventures that [[{{Interquel}} occurred between episodes]].

* The [[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and deluges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name and [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory.

* The [[{{Defictionalization}} real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and deluges other bits of information that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name and [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory.

* Various games and books related to the series count as this, but the [[{{Defictionalization}} real-life Journal 3]] that was released following the finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is the show's biggest example. The 288-page book ties up some of the remaining loose ends like [[spoiler:what happened to Blendin Blandin during the events of the finale]], gives insight to the Author's life while living in Gravity Falls, [[spoiler:as well as on the other side of the portal]], and other bits of random bits of info that the show never mentioned like Dipper's real name and [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]'s backstory.

** The producers have announced that the upcoming ''Young Justice: Legacy'' video game will shed some light on what happened during the five year TimeSkip between seasons one and two, as well as introduce a new villain who would've appeared in season three, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork had it not been cancelled]].

* Similarly, the Nick.com e-cards for ''ChalkZone'' told us that Rudy's full name is Rudolph Bartholomew Tabootie.

* * Snowball II, the replacement cat for Snowball on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was revealed in 1994 to not be a cat at all, but a member of a race of catlike aliens sent to spy on Earthlings. Problem was, this was only mentioned on a BongoComics trading card about Snowball II and never brought up in the show itself. And it probably never will be, now that Snowball II herself has been killed and replaced by various other cats (though the current cat is called Snowball II even in-universe simply for tradition's sake.